List of UNSC political parties
Because of the Unified Earth Government's nature as a multi-party system, a large number of political parties representing a wide variety of views exist within the United Nations Space Command. Major parties The UEG operates on a multi-party system with the two most significant parties being the Conservatives and the Liberals. However, the so-called "Earth Firsters" are a significant third party that can effectively deny either of the two parties a majority, which has occasionally resulted in the need for coalition governments. Conservative Party The Conservative Party is considered to be right-of-centre in its policies and traditionally favours small government, fiscal conservatism and economic liberalism, a free-market economy, higher levels of gun control, the promotion of personal responsibility over welfare programs (though government health and welfare services do exist), low taxation, and low defecit spending. It has historically taken a hard-line approach on crime, supporting the death penalty for murder, rape, and paedophilia and favouring longer prison sentences. The party also favours a strong national defence, and a foreign policy that takes a hard line with rival or belligerent states but a close relationship with allies such as the Sangheili Armed Forces. The Conservative Party has traditionally found its support in the business community, medium- to high-income voters, families, Earth and the Inner Colonies, and the military, especially the officer corps. Its official colours are royal blue and gold and its emblem is gold tree and wreath on a blue field. The party currently controls a supermajority in the UNSC Parliament, and is currently led by Pierre Plantard. Liberal Party The Liberal Party is considered to be left-of-centre in its policies but also follows a liberal ideology. In recent years it has followed socialist policies such as public ownership of key industries, government intervention in the economy, the redistribution of wealth, increased rights for workers, the welfare state, high budget deficits in order to pay for social policies, looser gun control, and greater government influence in publicly-funded healthcare and education, all to produce a more egalitarian society. Though it has never made any moves to abolish the death penalty, it has historically taken a softer approach on crime than the Conservatives, favouring shorter prison sentences and greater use of control orders, with mixed effects. It has traditionally viewed high defence spending as wasteful and in recent years has seen the necessity of the military as questionable, believing that all issues can be solved through diplomacy and that "violence never solved anything". Like the Conservatives, they favour strong ties with allies, but adopt a more concilatory approach to rivals, which has been interpreted as a sign of weakness. The Liberal Party has traditionally found its support among blue-collar workers, low-income voters and families, and the Outer Colonies. Its official colour is red and its emblem is a white-and-red pen over a rose. It is currently the second-largest party in the UNSC Parliament, and until 2565 it was led by Jerome Smithson, who resigned in disgrace after his military and economic policies left the UNSC vulnerable to attack at the beginning of the Second Great War. Leadership elections have met with repeated deadlock and the former Home Secretary, Anna Basil, remains the interim leader. Earth-First Party The Earth-First Party (EFP) is an Earth-nationalist, far-right party that takes the view that all policy decisions should be done for the benefit of Earth's citizens first and the colonies second. It supports completely halting immigration from the colonies to Earth, with the justification that it is supporting "Earth jobs for Earth workers", a hard-line approach to crime that favours increasing the number of crimes punished by execution, as well as the re-introduction of corporal punishment. Its economic policy favours protectionism for Earth-made goods, economic nationalism, and corporatism. They propose a high defence budget, the peacetime introduction of conscription and the abolition of gun ownership rights for non-Earth citizens, which they argue would have prevented the Insurrection had it been adopted in the 2400s, an assertion that is not supported by the overwhelming majority of analysts and historians. In recent years it has adopted an extreme anti-integrationist approach, arguing that former Covenant species residing in UNSC space should not be afforded the same rights as Humans and be confined to ghettos, suggesting that they would otherwise form a "Fifth Column" within the UNSC aimed at bringing it down from within and re-starting the genocide begun by the Prophet of Truth. The Earth-First Party has never recieved any support outside Earth, and its voting base has typically been among blue-collar Earth workers and Earth citizens without a higher education. It has been argued that the party would not exist at all were it not for a clause in the UNSC's constitution where all one hundred and eighty former nation-states on Earth hold representation in Parliament. This often resulted in many bills attempting to improve the standard of living in the Outer Colonies (often by raising taxes for the populations of Earth and the Inner Colonies) being overturned by this enormous voting advantage Earth holds over her colonies. Despite this, however, the most progressive of Earth's representatives are more heavily represented in the Liberal Party. The party's official colours are black and white, and its emblem consists of the bold, thick white outlines of the letters EFP on a black field. The EFP currently controls only one seat in the UNSC Parliament, and is currently led by Nicola Griffin. Other parties A large number of smaller parties with a few or no seats in Parliament exist representing a wide variety of views, but the primary power struggle is between the Conservatives, Liberals, and Earth-Firsters. These parties maybe described as fringe groups, and generally hold extreme views. Eridanus National Party The Eridanus National Party (ENP) is the largest political party campaigning for the independence of the Eridanus Star Systems, specifically, Epsilon Eridani and Eridanus II. Its stated aim is "to create a just, caring and enterprising society by releasing the full potential of the Eridanus Systems as an independent nation in the mainstream of the modern Galaxy." The party's social democratic platform is largely considered centre-left in the political spectrum. The ENP's left-wing nationalism is based on equality, popular sovereignty and national self-determination. An abstentionist political group, it refuses to occupy the seats it might hold in the UEG Parliament, as it refuses to accept the body as legitimate. Officially, the ENP condemns terrorist actions committed by Insurrectionists in the name of independance and claims to have "absolutely no connection to the despicable yet understandable acts of the Insurrectionists and deeply regret(s) this violent fanatacism." However, various UNSC intelligence agencies in the 2520s were certain that there was a "strong connection" between the EFP and the Eridanus Rebels, with the Rebels effectively operating as a paramilitary wing of the EFP, claims which the EFP strongly denied and decried as "detrimental to the peace process." In recent years, however, the EFP has apparently cut any and all ties with terrorist organisations. The party's emblem is that of a red looped ribbon on a black field. It currently controls no seats in the UEG Parliament, though it is the third-largest political party in the Epsilon Eridani System legislature, and the fourth largest on the recolonised Eridanus II. Its current leader is Alex Trout. Tribute Unionist Party Victoria Liberation Party Social Democratic Party National Democratic Party Communist Party Koslovic Party Libertarian Party Equality Party Anti-Integration Party Humanity First Party Category:War of Vengeance Category:Human-Covenant War